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Yesterday I started on my journey from Miss. to Mrs. (legally)! First stop the Social Security office in Lake Mary! Let me tell you I got up super, duper early – 6:30, went out for a 45 min. run, fixed Bernard’s lunch (yes, I do that), showered, and headed over to Lake Mary. When I arrived the security guard (yes they have them at the SS office) informs me that the Lake Mary office does not handle Social Security cards – like what? But, it’s the SS office(mouth twisted up and head cocked to the side), they should handle everything SS related, Right? He say’s no. This office only handle SS benefits. Well, I’ll-be-darn. that’s not what it said on the SSA website. Then again I knew I should have doubted the information on the website. For one, I found several misspelled words (for example, here if you scroll do to Local agencies they “forgot” the ‘s’ in agencies). I look around and I assume he is correct, being that almost everyone in the waiting room is over the age of 65. Then he tells me that I have to go to the Orlando office, which is out near the airport (long sigh and a frown…it’s 30 min away). I decided to wait until Tuesday to make the trip down to Orlando office, being that I still had several items on my list I had to check off for the upcoming reception on Saturday.

Fast forward to today. I decided, I’m going to run at my normal time (8:30 am) instead of 6:30 (that’s just way too much effort)…besides Dr. B was a little frisky :).. Anyhoo, I arrive

The line to get into the SS office

at the SS office around 11:00. Can I tell you that it took me all of 15 minutes to snatch a parking spot? The lot was jam packed with cars, just like the parking lot at the mall during the holidays. Don’t you hate it when you have to stalk some unsuspecting person coming out of the store, and creep up behind them in your car as they make their way to their parking spot? That’s just how crowded the SS office was. I finally luck up on a parking spot and make my way to the front door. Would you believe that there is a long line outside the door, and a security guard posted outside the door? He announces that the office is filled to capacity, so there was a limit to the number of people he could let inside. Luckily, I only had to wait 20 min in the hot 90 degree sun 🙂 Oh! Did I mention that he also said, “once inside, the wait was about an hour?” Translated, that means, “people with a long to do list (me), it’s really a 1.5 hour wait(another loooong sigh).”

Once inside I took at a number, and as calculated an hour and a half later the call my number. Oh! I failed to mention there were signs posted telling you to you to turn off your cellphone? Yep, turn it off, or else! To enforce the “law”, every so often the security guard would make his rounds, and scold people who were using their cell phones. One guy wasn’t even talking on the phone, he was texting, and the guard told him to shut it off. Wow! Is this how socialism looks from the inside? 🙂

So, I go back to the window when my number is called. From beginning to end, I’m at the window for roughly 2.5 minutes! Really. I was hoping for at least 20 minutes of quality time with the SS worker. No, such, luck. 2.5 minutes, that’s all I got. I expected a better return on my time investment. Heck I don’t get out of bed for less than $10K (most of you are probably are too young to remember that quote from an once-famous super model.) But, as my mom the realist said, when I spoke with her about the fiasco, “well… at least it’s over and done.”

I'm finally inside...look at the line outside!

But, there are a few lessons things I can say about this experience:

1. Don’t lose you SS card. Guard it with your life. Lock in a safe deposit and throw away the key.

2. Maybe at birth the federal government should just tattoo our SSN on our arms, that would eliminate a lot of the congestion at the SS office.

3. I’m not a fan of waiting in the sun at the SS office, or ANY government office for that matter.

4. It only took me 2.5 hours to see someone for 2.5 minutes. I have to wait 2.5 weeks to get my SS card that reads Natasha Williams!!